Secrets of the Medjai New Year Special - Evil Inside
by J-R Virtual Seasons
Summary: After an O'Connell family Christmas and a tropical island new year getaway, Alex and Yanit return to Egypt to find an unexpected enemy waiting for them.
1. Chapter 1

Alex and Yanit were lying side by side on a tropical beach, staring up at the gradually darkening sky.

'We should get going now,' said Yanit. 'We won't be back at the Academy in the daylight if we're not careful, and that'll make the landing so much more difficult.'

'Yeah; I guess we'd better make a move,' said Alex. 'Yanit, you really did enjoy your O'Connell family Christmas, didn't you?'

'Of course I did, Alex,' Yanit said with a laugh. 'I've never experienced anything like it before – it was quite wonderful!'

'All the Christmas crackers had the same joke in them,' Alex said apologetically.

'That didn't matter,' said Yanit. 'Anyway, one of them had a different joke, and as there were about twenty of them in total, that made the whole situation extremely hilarious!'

'Mikey threw up on you.'

'Your Uncle Jonathan threw up on _you_ , but neither of us minded either incident at all in the general hilarity!'

'I'm not so sure about that,' said Alex, making a face. 'Still, I... I'm really glad you enjoyed yourself.'

'You enjoyed yourself too, didn't you?' said Yanit.

'Yeah, I did,' said Alex. 'But mainly because you were there.'

'I think you enjoyed it because _all_ of us were there, together.'

'Yeah... yeah, I did. You know me better than I know myself, Yanit.'

'Do you think your grandfather will stay in London now?' Yanit asked.

'I don't know,' said Alex. 'I sure hope he will... for his sake, more than anything. And for Mikey's, of course.'

'I think he'll stay,' said Yanit. 'Now he knows what it's like to be part of a family – really, properly part of it – he won't want to miss out on the experience... and nor will I.'

Yanit grasped Alex's hand and turned to smile at him; he met her gaze and smiled back.

'You know, I'm getting kinda cold,' said Alex. 'Incredibly tempting as it is to extend our new year getaway for at least one more night, maybe we actually should go back to Egypt now.'

'Yes, I think we'll have to, really,' said Yanit. 'Let's put our clothes back on and get Rupert ticking over, shall we?'

'Okay,' said Alex.

* * *

As Yanit switched off the plane's engine and Alex pulled the hangar doors closed, Fadil and Tara entered through the smaller door that led to the main part of the Medjai Academy.

'Thank goodness you're back at last!' Fadil shouted over the noise of the dying engine. 'There's something we really need to tell you about!'

Yanit jumped down from the cockpit as Fadil and Tara approached the plane, and Alex quickly came over to join them.

'First things first, though,' said Tara. 'Did you both have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year?'

'We sure did!' said Yanit.

'I hope you're not going to give us some news that might put a damper on the rest of the year, though,' said Alex.

'That is a possibility, I'm afraid,' said Fadil, 'although we really don't know what our news means, if anything.'

'We'd just love to hear all about your vacation after you've heard our news,' Tara added. 'Maybe we can all have a meal together and catch up.'

'Yes, let's do that,' Yanit said with a smile.

'Okay then,' said Alex, 'let's hear the worst, Fadil.'

'Tara and I were on our way home from Cairo yesterday when we found something very strange in the desert,' said Fadil.

'It's a pyramid,' said Tara.

'That's not the strangest thing one might find in the desert,' said Yanit.

'But this is unlike any pyramid I've ever seen before!' said Fadil. 'It's completely isolated – nothing but sand as far as the eye can see in all directions... and it's not part of any known burial ground – we checked.'

'Plus it has four really weird stone obelisks surrounding it,' said Tara. 'We tried to identify them in the Medjai Encyclopedia and a few other reference books, but nothing of their like ever seems to have been documented.'

'That's more than a little strange, I have to admit,' said Alex. 'Did you tell Ardeth about this?'

'No; we didn't tell anyone,' said Fadil. 'We both agreed that we'd rather wait for you two.'

'We'd better go and check it out, then,' said Alex. 'Where exactly is this place?'

'It's about ten miles from here,' said Fadil. 'I'm certain I can find it again.'

'Let's take the horses we were riding yesterday,' said Tara. 'They'll soon find the way, if we steer them vaguely in the right direction.'

'Good idea, Tara,' Yanit said warmly.

'Okay; we'll set off straight after breakfast,' said Alex. 'We'll soon find out if this strange pyramid is just an unexpected archaeological find, or something that the Medjai need to deal with.'

'I know which one my money's on,' Fadil said darkly.

* * *

The two Medjai horses came to a halt in the shadow of the enormous pyramid; Alex and Yanit jumped down from one, while Fadil and Tara jumped down from the other.

'You're right, Fadil,' said Alex. 'This pyramid is unlike any other in Egypt, so far as I can tell. The construction is very strange – not quite the same as any I've ever seen. And those obelisks... weird!'

'It's almost like they're guarding the pyramid,' said Yanit. 'Perhaps they're supposed to keep something inside... or prevent intruders from gaining entry, maybe.'

'They haven't zapped us or anything,' Tara pointed out. 'But I think they look like they _might_ zap us.'

'Maybe they will if we try to get inside,' said Fadil. 'There's an open doorway at the bottom there, look.'

'Pyramids usually mean mummies, don't they?' said Yanit. 'This can't be anything to do with Imhotep, can it? He never had a pyramid, did he?'

'No; he wasn't a pharaoh,' said Alex. 'He was a priest... and a disgraced and condemned priest to boot! Besides, he's safely stored away in the Great Cavern, and the Minotaur would have told us right away if anything was happening with his sarcophagus. If there _is_ a mummy in there, it can't have anything to do with Imhotep.'

'It might be just as undead and just as evil, though, mightn't it?' said Fadil.

'Yeah, I suppose that's possible,' said Alex. 'Or maybe it's just an undiscovered monument and there's nothing unusual or supernatural about it at all. Shall we find out?'

The quartet approached the pyramid with a degree of caution, and entered through the door that Fadil had pointed out.

'Well, we didn't get zapped by the obelisks,' said Tara. 'Maybe that's a good sign.'

They followed the narrow stone passage, which was lit with occasional wall torches, until they reached a fork.

'We'll have to split up,' said Alex.

'Why?' said Fadil.

'Because there's definitely something in here – those torches didn't light themselves – and we need to find out what it is,' said Alex.

'That doesn't mean we have to split up,' said Fadil. 'There's safety in numbers, Alex.'

'We can cover more ground more quickly if we split up,' Alex pointed out.

'Why do we need to do that?' said Fadil. 'Do you have some important luncheon appointment you need to rush off to?'

'No,' said Alex, laughing slightly. 'Well, Yanit, it looks like you have the deciding vote.'

'I want to hear what Tara thinks we should do,' said Yanit.

'What I think isn't important,' said Tara. 'I'm not part of the Supreme Council, Yanit.'

'Nevertheless, I want to hear your opinion before I cast my vote,' said Yanit.

'Well... I think we should split up,' said Tara. 'There's no reason to think we'd be in any immediate danger by pairing off... but if anything _does_ happen, or if we come to another choice of paths that might end up getting us lost, we should come straight back here and wait for the others.'

'I agree,' said Yanit. 'I vote we split up, under the conditions that Tara has just outlined.'

'Agreed,' said Alex.

'Okay,' said Fadil.

Alex started to move closer to Yanit, but she skipped away from him and planted herself next to Tara.

'Let's have the girls take one way and the boys take the other, shall we?' said Yanit.

'Um... okay,' said Alex. 'If that's what you want, Yanit. Fadil, it looks like you're with me.'

'So it does,' said Fadil. 'You girls be careful, won't you?'

'You think we can't cope without our big, strong boys to protect us?' said Yanit, slipping her arm through Tara's. 'That's hardly in keeping with the new Medjai philosophy, Fadil. We're perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves, aren't we, Tara?'

'Um... sure, Yanit,' said Tara, giving her companion a slightly uncertain look.

'Okay then,' said Alex, 'let's do this. But we must all remember what Tara said – back here to the fork right away if anything weird or alarming happens, or if the path divides again, right?'

'Right!' said the other three.

* * *

Yanit and Tara walked in silence for several minutes; the stone corridor seemed to stretch in front of them forever.

'Yanit?' said Tara.

'Yes, Tara?' said Yanit.

'I have to admit, I was a little surprised you wanted to pair up with me for this,' said Tara. 'I, er... I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to have me with you in a potentially dangerous situation.'

'What are you talking about, Tara?' said Yanit. 'Don't you have any idea how glad I am to have you around? There's only one thing more trying than being the first female Medjai, and that's being the _only_ female Medjai!'

'Not getting bored of Alex's distinctly male company already, are you?' Tara giggled.

'No way!' Yanit laughed. 'It's just nice to have a little variety occasionally, when the opportunity presents itself. Don't you agree?'

'Oh yes, I do,' Tara said fervently. 'But the thing is, Yanit, that I... well, I tried to kill you!'

'That's water under the bridge, Tara,' said Yanit. 'I know you weren't yourself at the time. Besides, you tried to kill Fadil too, and we both know how he feels about you, so why shouldn't I feel the same way? Well, not _exactly_ the same way of course, but you know what I mean.'

'I tried much _harder_ to kill you than I did to kill Fadil,' Tara pointed out.

'It doesn't matter,' said Yanit. 'A big, black line has been drawn under that whole sequence of events – Alex saw to that, as I'm sure you remember very well. We're allies now, Tara... and I hope I'm right in saying that we're friends too.'

'Oh Yanit, of course we are,' said Tara, beaming all over her face. 'You know, when I came to Cairo to enchant Fadil with my feminine wiles so that I could infiltrate your base, I was really surprised to learn that there was a female Medjai already in residence. That's actually when I first began to suspect that my father might be – what is the expression? – full of crap.'

'I thought he managed to convince you that my presence was only tolerated because I gave Alex sex on demand?' said Yanit.

'As soon as I saw you and Alex together, I started to doubt my father's word on that,' said Tara. 'Although you did seem to be spending most of your time in bed together after I arrived at the Academy, so I was a little confused, I must admit.'

'That was just an unfortunate piece of timing,' Yanit said with a smile. 'It was a very new development in our relationship, just at the right time to play into your father's hands. But that's all over and done with now, so it doesn't matter at all. Look, isn't that daylight up ahead?'

'It's _some_ kind of light,' said Tara. 'Maybe this passage leads back outside.'

They emerged into a square chamber that was illuminated by a single window, high up in the stone wall. Most of the room was steeped in shadow, where the daylight seemed unable to reach.

'There doesn't seem to be anything here, but we'd better explore a little,' said Yanit.

'Shouldn't we go back to the fork now?' said Tara.

'We've hardly looked at the room; there may be something here,' said Yanit. 'Perhaps the passage continues on the other side.'

'But if there's more than one opening, or if this is a dead end, it's straight back the way we came, like we agreed with the boys,' said Tara, 'right?'

'Right,' said Yanit. 'I'll lead the way; you stay close behind me, okay?'

Tara nodded, and Yanit took a step forward. No sooner had she placed her foot back on the floor than a thick white tendril shot out of the shadows, grabbed Yanit securely by the wrist, and dragged her into the all-encompassing darkness.

* * *

'So tell me, buddy,' Alex said to Fadil, 'how are things going with you and Tara?'

'Things are going really great,' said Fadil, smiling widely.

'I'm very glad to hear it,' said Alex. 'Just tell me if this is none of my business – I'm only asking out of curiosity and I'm sure I have no right to – but have you considered asking her to start sharing a room with you?'

'I have considered it, yes,' said Fadil, 'but after a good deal of very careful thought, I decided not to do it.'

'Oh,' said Alex. 'I'd love to know why, if you're prepared to tell me.'

'Yes, I'm prepared to tell you,' Fadil said with a small smile. 'I feel I would be setting a bad example to the young recruits.'

'You do, huh?'

'Well... perhaps not exactly a bad example, but an undesirable precedent. After all, we welcomed fifteen girls aged from eleven to thirteen into the Academy a couple of weeks ago, and I wouldn't want any of the young boys to think it might be appropriate for him to pick a favourite girl and ask her to move in with him.'

'I see,' said Alex. 'Yes, I suppose that's a very good point. So... so do you think me and Yanit are setting a bad example, then?'

'Oh, no,' said Fadil. 'It's different for you, Alex.'

'You mean because I'm the Supreme Medjai?'

'Exactly. You're cohabiting with your Medjai Queen, for want of a better title – I'm sure no one at the Academy would ever question your right to do so.'

'I don't think Ardeth really approves of the arrangement,' said Alex. 'Or he didn't at first, anyway. And now I'm feeling kinda uneasy about it, after what you just said about setting a bad example.'

'It was not my intention to make you feel that way,' said Fadil. 'I wish I hadn't said anything now.'

'I'm glad you did,' said Alex. 'It's something that needs thinking about.'

'Don't trouble yourself with it, Alex, please,' said Fadil. 'I only meant that I'd be setting a precedent if I was seen to be doing what you were doing, not that I thought there was anything wrong with you doing it yourself. And besides, that isn't even the main reason I decided not to broach the subject with Tara at the present time.'

'So what _is_ the main reason?' said Alex.

'It's Safin,' said Fadil. 'I've told him that he's always welcome in my room, any time of the day or night, and I want him to be free to come and go as he chooses. If I start cohabiting with Tara, the arrangement would not be fair on either of them.'

'But Tara's been spending a whole lot of time in your room anyway, hasn't she?'

'Yes, and Safin has walked in on us a couple of times, which is absolutely fine with me, but I don't want to force Tara to be okay with it happening in _her_ room – which is what _our_ room would be, if she didn't have her own private space to go back to when she felt the need. No woman wants to live with the threat of a young man she is not intimately familiar with being free to barge in to her private boudoir whenever he feels like it. I don't want to put Tara in that position, or ask her to consider putting herself in it.'

'Wow, you've really thought about this a lot,' Alex remarked. 'I have to say, I'm impressed by your reasoning – by all of it, I mean.'

'Thank you, Alex,' said Fadil, 'although I feel I must urge you again to forget about that whole bad example thing – I truly wasn't thinking about you and Yanit when I said it, and I truly don't think that any of it applies to you. Look; is that some kind of light up ahead?'

'Yeah, I think it is,' said Alex. 'Maybe we're finally going to discover something about what this pyramid is hiding.'

They emerged into a huge chamber that was lit by a square of daylight far above, apparently at the apex of the pyramid itself. A stone runway led to a large cauldron of water, beyond which a huge stone sarcophagus was standing upright in the mouth of a giant skull. Four enormous statues surrounded the cauldron, seeming to look down on it with their dull stone eyes.

'It's a burial chamber,' Alex breathed. 'I think we're really on to something here, Fadil.'

'Those statues are giving me a most peculiar feeling,' said Fadil. 'Are they supposed to be people or animals or what? They remind me of the four obelisks surrounding the pyramid.'

'We need to get the girls in here before we explore the place,' said Alex. 'I'm suddenly starting to feel really worried about them.'

'Shall we go back to the fork, then press on and find them if they're not already there?'

'That's a good idea, but I have a little modification to your plan that might just speed things up a bit.'

* * *

Yanit whipped out her dagger and sliced through the tendril that was attached to her left wrist, but already her ankles were encased in more of the same material, which was rapidly snaking its way up her legs.

'Yanit, what the hell is going on?' Tara squeaked in alarm.

'They're bandages!' Yanit replied, sounding more than a little alarmed herself. 'I think I'm being mummified!'

Yanit slashed at the bandages as they crawled above her knees, then a further tendril shot out from the darkness and grabbed her right wrist. Yanit's dagger went tumbling to the floor. She cried out in frustration and alarm as she clawed at the bandages that were rapidly enveloping her. She felt them encircling her thighs and pulling themselves taut, before they snaked all around her lower body and started to reach up her back.

'Don't worry,' said Tara, pulling herself together. 'I'll save you.'

Tara grabbed the fallen dagger and got to work on the bandages, but they had soon grabbed her in several places as well. Tara squealed as she frantically slashed at the tendrils that were restraining her, then she found herself staggering backwards into the patch of light cast by the high window.

Yanit's breath was now coming in rattled gasps as the bandages tautened themselves around her chest. Tara stared at the sight in panic and fear, then she felt something moving in her left hand, and looked down at it.

A fragment of one of the bandages that had grabbed her had come away in her hand, and was now writhing in an apparent state of distress. As Tara watched in awe, the bandage crumbled to dust between her fingers. She stared at her empty hand for a few moments, then she looked up at the window.

'The sunlight...' she breathed. 'Hold on, Yanit – I'll get you out of there!'

The bandages had now covered Yanit's face; only her long black hair still gave any indication that she was not a walking mass of decomposing flesh and bone. She was still clawing vainly at her constricted chest, but her hands were encased so tightly that she failed to gain even the slightest grip.

Tara leapt into action. She quickly severed the tendrils that were still connecting Yanit to the encompassing darkness, then she wrapped her arms around Yanit and hurled the pair of them into the lighted area. The bandages seemed to scream as the sunlight made contact with them; Tara watched in great relief as Yanit's body casing rapidly crumbled to dust.

Yanit leaned heavily on Tara as she drew in huge lungfuls of air. Tara put a supportive arm around her.

'Tara,' Yanit panted, when the power of speech returned to her, 'if I'd had any lingering doubts about your loyalty or your courage or anything else you might require to be a top-class Medjai warrior – and I _didn't_ have any doubts, I must stress once again – but if I _had_ had any, they'd just have been completely dispelled. Thank you.'

As her breathing eased, Yanit wrapped her arms around Tara and held her tightly. Tara smiled and returned the hug.

'Is everything okay in here?'

The girls drew apart to be met with the sight of a transparent image of Alex standing in the doorway, looking more than a little worried.

'Everything's fine, Alex,' said Yanit. 'Some evil bandages just tried to mummify me, but Tara had my back.'

'Wow,' Alex remarked. 'Maybe Fadil was right – it would've been safer if we'd all stuck together.'

'We were safe enough in pairs,' said Yanit. 'Tara's just proved that beyond all doubt.'

Tara went very red and said, 'Thank you, Yanit.'

'Anyway, this chamber seems to be a dead end, as you can probably see,' Yanit said to Alex. 'Did you guys have any more luck than us?'

'We sure did,' said Alex. 'We've found a burial chamber; I've come to lead you to it.'

'It looks like the boys really did have all the luck, then,' Yanit said wryly. 'How typical! Do you think it's the kind of burial chamber that's nothing more than an interesting archaeological curiosity, or the kind that turns out to be the lair of some undead fiend?'

'I think it could go either way,' said Alex. 'We'll all explore it together, and see what we can find.'

* * *

Fadil and Tara were pacing around the strange statues, examining them closely, while Alex and Yanit stood in front of the bubbling cauldron. Alex was holding Yanit's right hand in a tender grip and examining the array of red weals left by the bandages.

'Really, Alex, I'm fine,' said Yanit. 'These will fade in no time.'

'Alex, are you sure you don't recognise any of these images?' Fadil called over.

'I examined all four of those statues very carefully and I'm absolutely sure I don't know what they are,' Alex replied, still peering at Yanit's injuries. 'Like I said, they look like oversized mockeries of Ancient Egyptian canopic jars, but not depicted in a way I've ever seen them before. Ouch!'

Yanit frowned and gently withdrew her hand, but it was too late. Her skin was now completely free of marks, while Alex was sporting an impressive array of red welts on both his forearms.

'Alex, you really must stop doing that every time I suffer the slightest boo-boo,' said Yanit, smiling nevertheless. 'You're very kind, but you don't need to put yourself through such discomfort for me.'

'I can heal them more quickly than you can, Yanit,' said Alex. 'Ooh, they do sting – you should've told me they were making you sting.'

'I was trying to discourage you from absorbing them,' said Yanit. 'What if we suddenly find ourselves in a dangerous battle situation? You've deliberately weakened yourself, Alex, and we all know how much trouble that can lead to.'

'Maybe I've weakened myself slightly,' Alex grinned, 'but I'm still much stronger than the rest of you, aren't I?'

Yanit laughed and smacked Alex across the chest. He winced, but carried on grinning at her. Fadil and Tara came up to join them.

'It's a mystery,' said Fadil. 'Someone has clearly constructed this chamber very carefully for a specific purpose, but can it really just be to act as the final resting place of whoever is inside that sarcophagus?'

'This doesn't feel like a resting place to me,' said Tara. 'There's a... a presence here. I think it has something to do with those statues.'

'I agree,' said Fadil, 'yet they really do just seem to be inert pieces of stone, when all is said and done. The same is true of the sarcophagus, and the cauldron, yet they all seem to emanate some kind of strange energy... but there's nothing here. Well, nothing alive.'

As Fadil spoke these words, the cauldron suddenly began to bubble and steam. The eyes of the huge skull that enclosed the sarcophagus started to glow, then there came a tremendous grating noise as the lid of the casket slid to one side. As Alex, Yanit, Fadil and Tara watched in awe, a figure was revealed inside the sarcophagus. It was wearing a hooded red cloak, underneath which it was apparently encased in bandages. Two red eyes stared out from the creature's skull-like face, and quickly fixed themselves on the four figures standing beyond the cauldron.

'As long as evil exists,' a deep, sepulchral voice intoned, 'Mumm-Ra lives!'


	2. Chapter 2

The bandaged figure walked slowly along the section of stone runway between the sarcophagus and the cauldron. Alex, Yanit, Fadil and Tara all watched with close scrutiny.

'Alex,' Fadil said quietly, 'should we attack?'

'No,' said Alex. 'But be ready for anything, okay?'

'Okay,' said the other three.

'The appointed hour has arrived, and so I have awakened,' Mumm-Ra announced. 'It is all happening just as the Spirits foretold. You four young upstarts have dared to enter my tomb uninvited. Now you will tell me the whereabouts of the Eye of Thundera, or I shall wreak unforgettable harm upon you all!'

'You might want to watch out who you're threatening there, pal,' Alex said quietly. 'We're here representing the Order of the Medjai, and _we're_ the ones who have questions for _you_ to answer!'

'I have no time for such tiresome trivialities,' said Mumm-Ra. 'The Eye of Thundera must be near, otherwise the appointed hour for my awakening would not be upon us.'

'We don't know anything about the Eye of Thundera,' said Yanit.

'You dare lie to Mumm-Ra?' the mummy snarled. 'You will pay dearly for such an insult, foolish creature! I refuse to be denied what was promised to me. It is my destiny; it is my right. Nothing will deter me from it.'

'Your destiny has nothing to do with us,' said Alex. 'Unless you start causing trouble, of course, then we'll have to stop you.'

Mumm-Ra chuckled deeply and said, 'Is that so?'

'Yes, that's so,' said Alex. 'We're Medjai warriors – it's part of our job, really.'

'You cannot deceive me,' said Mumm-Ra. 'I know you are trying to conceal from me the whereabouts of the Eye of Thundera. But sadly for you, I know exactly where it is to be found. You, boy!'

Alex was taken by surprise as Mumm-Ra jabbed a decaying forefinger in his direction; he could not help jumping backwards slightly.

'There is a very strong aura of power surrounding you,' Mumm-Ra continued. 'Tell me the truth, now – you wield the Sword of Omens, do you not?'

'No,' said Alex, sounding slightly bemused by the accusation, 'I do not!'

'Liar!' Mumm-Ra yelled. 'Perhaps this will persuade you to tell me the truth!'

Mumm-Ra splayed his hands before him and bolts of red lightning crackled from his fingertips. Alex, Yanit, Fadil and Tara all ducked instinctively.

'Look, we don't know anything about the Sword of Omens or the Eye of Thundera!' said Yanit, as the lightning assault ceased. 'Whatever you think your destiny is, and whatever is supposed to be your appointed time to fulfil it, I think you should consider the possibility that you've made a mistake!'

Mumm-Ra looked at Yanit with a curious expression. Alex tensed as though to leap into action, but then the mummy spoke again.

'What do you call this time period?' Mumm-Ra asked.

'We call it January nineteen thirty-nine,' said Alex, 'because that's what it is!'

'The Twentieth Century!' Mumm-Ra declared, sounding very surprised and more than a little annoyed. 'But this is too early – far, far too early! Why have you awakened me, tiresome children?'

'We certainly didn't mean to,' said Fadil. 'Did we bring you into being in some way, by entering your pyramid?'

'Your presence here has breathed new life into me,' said Mumm-Ra, 'yet I am several millennia too early to achieve my goal! You will all pay for this affront, accursed creatures! And then perhaps, seeing as I _am_ awake, I shall wreak a moderate amount of havoc on your world before I return to my slumber. Boy, that is the Manacle of Osiris you are wearing, is it not?'

'Yeah, that's right,' said Alex, giving Mumm-Ra a defiant and dangerous look.

'I could put that to very good use,' said Mumm-Ra. 'Yes, very good use indeed... once I have removed it from your wrist, of course... for which I may well have to remove your wrist from the rest of your body, but I don't think that task will prove too troublesome for me.'

'Why don't you try it and see how far you get?' Alex snarled back at the mummy. 'You've picked the wrong time to come back to life, pal!'

'I?' Mumm-Ra yelled angrily. 'It is _you_ who have disturbed _my_ rest; _you_ who have thrown _my_ plans into disarray! You deserve to pay the price, and so you will!'

'You're here because of me, aren't you?'

Everyone turned to look at Tara, including Mumm-Ra. She was staring down at her feet with her shoulders hunched, looking far from happy.

'Tara, what are you talking about?' Fadil asked worriedly.

'"As long as evil exists, Mumm-Ra lives",' said Tara. 'You were awakened by the presence of evil, weren't you? _My_ evil.'

'Tara, you're not evil!' Fadil exclaimed.

'But I am,' Tara said quietly. 'I tried to kill you – I tried to kill all three of you, directly or indirectly! I am my father's daughter and there's nothing I can do to change that, and that's why I've awakened Mumm-Ra!'

'You are correct, my dear,' Mumm-Ra's deep voice rumbled, sounding suddenly far less agitated. 'I am here because of you. Whatever happens to your friends, it is your responsibility.'

'Don't listen to him, Tara!' Yanit said urgently. 'You can't be evil – you saved my life a few minutes ago, you really did!'

'I've had enough of you, Mumm-Ra!' Alex declared. 'We're gonna send you back where you came from now, and all your self-proclaimed power isn't going to help you!'

'Is that so?' Mumm-Ra chuckled. 'Very well, foolish boy – you shall see my power, then; much to your sorrow!'

The cauldron began to bubble and steam once again as Mumm-Ra raised his arms in a gesture of power. Fadil gasped in alarm as the stone eyes on all four of the huge statues started to glow red. Alex and Yanit kept their eyes trained on Mumm-Ra, but Tara was still staring down at her feet.

'Ancient Spirits of Evil,' Mumm-Ra intoned, 'transform this decayed form to Mumm-Ra, the Ever Living!'

* * *

Alex launched himself at Mumm-Ra, barely registering the fact that the mummy was now close to ten foot tall and had sprouted a vast array of enormous muscles through his bandages. Alex landed on hard stone and fell into a crouch, before whirling around to see what had happened.

He was on his own on the far side of the cauldron; Mumm-Ra had leapt in the other direction and was now holding Tara up by her left wrist. Fadil and Yanit were standing ready to spring into action, their eyes fixed on Tara with obvious alarm.

Alex made a move towards the cauldron. Mumm-Ra squeezed Tara's arm, causing her to yell out in pain. Alex stopped.

'This is what happens when you drop your guard, girl,' Mumm-Ra said to Tara. 'Even if your three friends truly are the great warriors they claim to be, _you_ are clearly not of the same ilk!'

'You're right!' Tara sobbed. 'I'm not a Medjai warrior – I'm not anything! I'm evil and I'm worthless and I deserve to suffer for bringing you to life!'

'Foolish child,' Mumm-Ra chuckled softly. 'You yourself are no more responsible than these other three. As long as evil exists, Mumm-Ra lives. Evil exists always and everywhere, and so Mumm-Ra will always exist as well!'

Fadil made a rush at Mumm-Ra, but stopped in his tracks, horror-stricken, as Mumm-Ra unleashed a charge of energy from his free hand directly into Tara's chest. Tara screamed and writhed in his grip; Fadil cried out in anger and alarm.

'Fadil!' Alex called urgently. 'Follow my lead, okay?'

Fadil looked at Alex, who shot him a meaningful look. Fadil nodded in response, and stepped back from Mumm-Ra. The lightning assault ceased and Tara hung there limply, swaying slightly as she fought to regain control of her breathing.

'Did you enjoy that experience, girl?' Mumm-Ra asked her quietly.

'No,' Tara replied, sounding flat and defeated.

'I thought not,' said Mumm-Ra. 'Perhaps your friends will decide to co-operate with my demands once they have seen you endure terrible agony that is beyond imagining, over and over again. But in many ways, I hope that they do not. I want to see your ultimate pain threshold, my dear.'

Lightning crackled between Mumm-Ra's fingers yet again; he laughed horribly.

'I'm going to put _this_ one,' Mumm-Ra intoned, 'right between her pretty -'

'Now!' Alex yelled.

Mumm-Ra was sent flying backwards as Alex thrust both hands towards him with his palms held outwards. Tara tumbled from the mummy's hand, but Fadil was there to catch her as she fell.

'Tara?' Fadil said uncertainly. 'She's unconscious!'

'You take care of her, Fadil,' said Alex. 'Yanit and I will take care of _him_!'

As Mumm-Ra regained his feet and leapt at Alex, Fadil carried Tara out of harm's way. Yanit attempted to leap up and grab Mumm-Ra's leg as he soared over her head, but he swatted her aside and sent her tumbling to the floor.

'You dare to oppose Mumm-Ra, the Ever Living?' Mumm-Ra bawled at Alex. 'You will pay with your life, boy, and then the Manacle of Osiris will be mine!'

Alex aimed a second telekinetic attack at Mumm-Ra, but he was ready this time. He deflected the attack with a blast of lightning, then he grabbed Alex around the neck with a colossal clawed hand and slammed him up against the nearby sarcophagus, which shook under the impact. Alex yelled.

'Oh my God, I knew he shouldn't have weakened himself like that!' Yanit fretted, as she dragged herself to her feet. 'Come on, Fadil – we have to help Alex!'

Fadil carefully propped Tara against the wall in an awkward sitting position, then he ran to join Yanit. The pair of them vaulted over the cauldron and ran at Mumm-Ra. Keeping his right hand clasped around Alex's throat, the mummy turned and gestured at Yanit and Fadil with his left hand. They both went flying across the chamber and crashed into the wall.

'You and your friends are barely providing me with an interesting diversion, boy,' Mumm-Ra said to Alex, whose entire head had gone extremely red. 'Killing you all is barely a reasonable use of my time and resources... yet I shall do it anyway!'

'I... I don't think so,' said Alex, fixing Mumm-Ra with a determined expression. 'Medjai do not die easily.'

With that, Alex grasped Mumm-Ra's colossal wrist in his right hand and wrenched it from his throat. Mumm-Ra yelled in pain and pulled his arm away. Alex fell awkwardly to the floor, but he regained his footing quickly enough to punch Mumm-Ra in the chest. Mumm-Ra staggered backwards, fighting to stay on his feet.

Mumm-Ra roared, and launched himself at Alex once again. Alex held up his right hand and put up a barrier of telekinetic energy. Mumm-Ra was forced to stop in his tracks, then he caught sight of his own reflection in the golden surface of the Manacle of Osiris.

'Argh!' Mumm-Ra cried in horror, backing away and shielding his eyes. 'No!'

Alex glanced at the Manacle and immediately realised what had happened, then he looked over to where Yanit and Fadil were pulling themselves to their feet. He nodded determinedly.

'Guys, I'm gonna try something with the sarcophagus!' Alex called to them. 'I need you to keep him busy, okay? He hates the sight of his own reflection!'

'Got it, Alex!' Yanit called back. 'Go ahead when you're ready!'

Just as Mumm-Ra managed to regain his composure, Alex leapt into the air and slammed his feet into the mummy's chest. Mumm-Ra was catapulted across the chamber; Yanit and Fadil were ready for him.

'Fadil,' said Yanit, 'we'll use our daggers, all right?'

'I understand, Yanit,' said Fadil.

'You seek to destroy Mumm-Ra?' the mummy snarled at them. 'Foolish children, it cannot be done! Especially not with those pathetic little toothpicks of yours!'

Fadil and Yanit ran at Mumm-Ra with their daggers raised, but rather than attempt to stab him, they thrust the weapons' shining blades towards the mummy's face. Mumm-Ra roared and covered his eyes as he saw his reflection again; Yanit took the opportunity to kick his legs out from under him.

Meanwhile, Alex was using a combination of telekinesis and brute strength to push the sarcophagus towards the bubbling cauldron. Mumm-Ra noticed what he was doing and screamed in fury, but then he was distracted as Fadil's fist slammed into his abdomen.

Alex roared with exertion as he heaved the sarcophagus over the edge of the cauldron and tipped it into the water. Amidst the renewed churning and broiling, Alex fell to his knees under the strain of his efforts, and Mumm-Ra screamed piercingly.

There came a tremendous rumbling noise from overhead. Yanit and Fadil looked up in alarm to see that the pyramid seemed to be collapsing around them. Mumm-Ra was writhing and screaming as he half-melted, half-disintegrated into nothingness.

'Out of here!' Yanit said to Fadil.

'Right!' Fadil replied.

As Yanit ran to help Alex to his feet, Fadil lifted Tara into his arms. The four of them ran back along the stone passage, Tara now moving mostly under her own steam, and finally burst back out into the daylight. They turned around to drink in the awesome sight of the pyramid rocking and shaking as it apparently tore itself apart. The four obelisks surrounding it were all crackling with lightning.

'There,' said Tara, 'I knew those things would zap us if we weren't careful.'

Yanit had already mounted one of the agitated horses.

'Quick, Fadil,' she said, 'pass Tara up to me.'

Fadil nodded, and lifted the unprotesting Tara onto the horse's back, just in front of Yanit. Yanit took hold of the reins, then she carefully but firmly gripped Tara's hips between her knees and spurred the animal forward.

Alex and Fadil wasted no time in mounting the second horse, and followed quickly behind Yanit and Tara. They galloped away to a safe distance, then brought their mounts to a halt. They turned to see how the quake was progressing, and found themselves watching Mumm-Ra's pyramid sink back into the desert sands until not a trace of it remained.

* * *

'Well,' Alex remarked, smiling wryly through his exhaustion, 'that's that little problem sorted out, then.'

'Alex, how did you know to dump the sarcophagus into the cauldron?' said Yanit.

'When Mumm-Ra slammed me up against it, I realised there was a connection between the sarcophagus and himself,' Alex explained. 'It was giving him power, although I don't know exactly how. I guess you could say I read the sarcophagus's mind... or I read Mumm-Ra's mind through the sarcophagus, which it was connected to. I'm not sure exactly how I did it, but I did it.'

'And thank goodness you did!' Fadil said with feeling. 'I am very glad to have seen the last of Mumm-Ra.'

'But _have_ we seen the last of him, though?' said Tara. 'You heard what he said. He can't be destroyed; not really. Wherever there's evil, Mumm-Ra lives... and like he said, evil is everywhere.'

'We'll have to keep an eye on this place,' said Alex, 'just in case that pyramid does decide to show itself again.'

'I don't think it will,' said Yanit. 'At least, not in our lifetime. Mumm-Ra was waiting for something – or someone – specific to wake him up and lead him to this Eye of Thundera thingy he was after. And he seemed to think he was thousands of years too early! Whatever the Eye of Thundera is, I don't think it can really have anything to do with us, so I don't think Mumm-Ra is really our problem... or at least he won't be again, after being it today.'

'You mean you think the Eye of Thundera is destined to turn up here in thousands of years' time?' said Alex. 'Like it's suddenly going to fall from the sky or something, when the time is right?'

'Why not?' said Yanit. 'I've had stranger things presented to me as the indisputable truth, Alex, and so have you.'

'It's a daunting thought,' said Tara. 'To think that we might have stumbled upon something so far beyond our comprehension... and just to have experienced the merest brush with it, before going our separate ways once more... it's like touching an alien world.'

'Tara, you do know Mumm-Ra only told you that your evil had awakened him so he could manipulate you, don't you?' said Fadil. 'Like he said, all four of us were just as responsible as each other.'

'Oh yes, Fadil,' said Tara, 'I understand that now. I should have had faith in the love and support that the three of you were giving me... and I do, now.'

'It's certainly true that everyone has evil inside them,' said Yanit. 'Obviously only a tiny bit of evil is enough for Mumm-Ra to latch on to.'

'Personally, I think it's far more likely that he picked up on the evil in _me_ than in you, Tara,' said Fadil. 'I used to be such a pain in the backside, and I endangered my fellow Medjai with my carelessness and selfishness on several occasions.'

'That wasn't evil, Fadil,' said Alex. 'We all know why you acted that way.'

'It was the dark side of my nature that drove me to do it, whatever the underlying cause,' said Fadil. 'And I wasn't even being possessed by my evil father, like you were, Tara.'

'Although your father _was_ largely responsible for screwing with your head, Fadil,' Yanit pointed out.

'That is true,' said Fadil, 'but even so...'

'I understand what you're saying, Fadil,' Tara beamed at him, 'and you needn't worry that I haven't taken it on board, because I have. I am sure of myself now – I _am_ a Medjai warrior... or I will be, once I've completed my training... and I love you, Fadil, with all that I am and all that I have.'

'I love you likewise, Tara,' Fadil beamed back at her.

'Right, so now we've got that straightened out,' said Alex, 'let's go home and tidy ourselves up a little, shall we?'

'Yes, let's do that,' said Fadil, and the girls nodded in agreement.

* * *

Night had fallen outside the Medjai Academy. In Alex and Yanit's private suite, Yanit emerged from the bathroom, crossed over to the bed and slipped between the sheets next to Alex, who was sitting up and poring over the Medjai Encyclopedia.

'There's definitely nothing in here about the Eye of Thundera,' said Alex, turning over a page, 'or the Sword of Omens either. I'll take another look through the library archives tomorrow just to be sure, but I really don't think I'm going to find any written reference to either of them.'

'Neither do I,' said Yanit. 'Like I said before, Alex, I do not believe that Mumm-Ra is our problem. Although you are quite right to be cautious in your outlook and meticulous in your investigations, of course.'

'Thanks,' Alex grinned at her, slamming the book shut and throwing it onto the floor. 'Yanit, do you mind if I ask you a question?'

'Ask me anything you want, my love.'

'Do you think we're setting a bad example to the younger Medjai?'

'How do you mean?' Yanit asked, giving Alex a quizzical look.

'By cohabiting like this, I mean,' Alex elaborated. 'Do you think we're encouraging inappropriate relations between them?'

'I didn't realise you thought our relationship was inappropriate, Alex,' said Yanit, pulling back the cover a little and placing one foot onto the floor. 'If that's the way you feel, I'll put some clothes on and then throw myself on the mercy of Tara – I'm sure she won't mind me bunking in with her tonight, seeing as we're best gal-pals now. Or if Fadil's already in her room with her, I'll go and use his bed instead.'

'No!' Alex exclaimed, placing a gently restraining hand on Yanit's arm. 'No, please don't go, Yanit.'

Yanit smiled and settled herself back down.

'Alex, I don't think we're setting a bad example to the younger Medjai,' she said. 'Being the Supreme Medjai has to come with a few perks, doesn't it? Why don't you just relax and enjoy one or two of them for a change, hmm?'

'Yeah, okay,' Alex said with a laugh. 'Maybe you'll even let me enjoy three or four of them before we go to sleep, huh?'

'I might do, if you're nice to me,' Yanit grinned at him. 'But I want to tell you something first, Alex. Bearing in mind that you're really not like anyone else in this world, and despite what I said earlier, I do not believe that there is any evil inside _you_ , so there!'

'Sure there is,' said Alex. 'There's good and evil inside everyone, just like you said.'

'Then why did Imhotep have to resort to exposing you to the evil energy of the Well Spring of Darkness when he wanted to tempt you to join forces with him?'

'He was just being lazy. I was far from happy with how my life was going back then; there were plenty of things he could have brought up in an attempt to manipulate me, if he'd bothered to take the time.'

'Such as?'

'The fact that I'd almost completely lost faith in Ardeth and his training scheme; the fact that I was incredibly frustrated about not having more control over the Manacle by that time; the fact that I thought everyone was treating me like a kid, and I resented them all bitterly for it...'

'None of that was caused by something evil inside you, Alex,' said Yanit. 'I'm not saying you were completely right about that stuff, because you've told me yourself that you weren't, but all those feelings were caused by your... your spirit; your backbone; your emotional core.'

'Perhaps that's just another set of terms for someone's dark side,' Alex shrugged. 'Maybe the evil inside us is what we draw on so we can find the strength to make the tough decisions in our lives. Whatever term you want to use, I believe that's what Mumm-Ra picked up on... in me, and in the rest of you as well.'

'Hmm... you present a convincing argument, Alex,' said Yanit. 'I can't disagree with any of that. Perhaps, in truth, "evil" is actually a rather simplistic and inadequate term to describe anything about the human spirit.'

'I think that's true, but while we're on the subject,' said Alex, 'I refuse to believe that you've ever done anything remotely close to evil, Yanit.'

'Is that so?' Yanit said with a laugh. 'Okay, Alex, let me tell you a little story about something I once did; one I've never told you before, and there aren't very many of those left.'

'Whatever it is, I bet it wasn't evil.'

'You'll see. This one time, when I was about seven, my father went to stay for the weekend with two friends of his – they were a married couple – who he'd known for donkey's years, and he took me with him. They had a faulty knob on their bathroom door and my father warned me to be careful when I turned it, but I didn't listen. We'd been there for less than twenty-four hours when I ran to the bathroom, grabbed the doorknob quite unthinkingly, gave it an almighty yank... and that's when it fell off in my hand.'

'Oh my God,' Alex giggled. 'What did you do?'

'Nothing!' Yanit said dramatically. 'I just balanced the knob on the broken mechanism as best I could and then got as far away from the bathroom as reasonably possible. I didn't tell anyone what I'd done. A couple of hours later, my father's friend went to use the bathroom and of course he pulled the knob away from the door, and his wife went absolutely ballistic at him!'

'Poor guy,' said Alex, laughing quite a lot by this point in Yanit's story.

'It wasn't funny!' said Yanit, giggling a little nevertheless. 'She told him he was always breaking things and he was thoughtless and careless and had no respect for their home or for their marriage... and still I didn't own up.'

'I think the guy should've fixed the knob before you came to stay,' said Alex.

'Maybe he should, but its final breakage was my responsibility and I never owned up to it. My father went to his grave not knowing anything about it. I feel deeply ashamed whenever I recall that sorry sequence of events.'

'Yanit, is that really the worst thing you've ever done?'

'Um... yes, I think so,' said Yanit.

'Then there's definitely no evil inside you whatsoever!' Alex said firmly. 'And that's the final ruling of the Supreme Medjai, okay?'

Yanit laughed, and nodded her head. Alex smiled as he tenderly brushed Yanit's slightly disarranged hair out of her eyes. Yanit smiled back at Alex, then she reached out to stroke his chest.

'Your bandage welts have faded completely,' she remarked, several seconds later.

'I know,' said Alex, 'but I still have a few claw marks on my neck.'

'Mmm,' Yanit purred, 'sexy.'

'They'll be gone by the morning,' Alex said apologetically.

'Well then,' Yanit grinned, 'we'd better make the most of them while we can!'

Yanit reached out to extinguish the candle beside the bed; she had launched herself at Alex and attached her lips to his by the time the snuffer clattered onto the tabletop.


End file.
